Exam 2: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Information Systems

Wikipedia is a free,Web-based,collaborative,multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.Its 17 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world,and almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site.This allows people to participate and create something of value for everyone.Wikipedia is pursuing a(n)________ approach to applying freeconomics.

To assist ________ decision making,information systems are used to obtain aggregate summaries of trends and projections of the future.

At the ________ level of an organization,information systems provide KPIs that are focused on balancing performance across the organization.

Define the term "freeconomics." Briefly explain the different approaches of freeconomics.

Executive-level decisions are referred to as unstructured decisions.

With respect to organizational decision-making levels,for ________ decisions,some procedures to follow for a given situation can be specified in advance,but not to the extent where a specific recommendation can be made.

In an organizational setup,a functional area represents a discrete area of an organization that focuses on a specific set of activities.

Web sites like ez-tracks and beemp3 pursue a(n)________ approach to applying freeconomics when they offer free music downloads for users because reproduction and distribution of these products come at no cost.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of firms that pursue a global strategy?

In contrast to global organizations where most of the resources are centralized in different countries,different resources in a transnational company need to be centralized in the company's home country.

Tele'Wire,a mobile manufacturer,offers free connections to customers who buy its mobile phones.This cost of connection is actually included in the price of the mobile phone.Tele'Wire is pursuing a(n)________ approach to applying freeconomics.

In an organization,managers use value chain analysis to identify opportunities where information systems can be used to develop a competitive advantage.

Organizational strategy is a firm's plan to accomplish its mission and goals as well as to gain or sustain competitive advantage over rivals.

List Porter's primary competitive forces that analyze the competition within an industry.

Information systems at the ________ level of an organization often help in automating repetitive activities.

The use of information systems has become one of the primary ways that organizations improve their value chains.

________ decisions deal with complex problems with broad and long-term ramifications for an organization.

At the ________ level of a firm,information systems are typically used to optimize processes and to better understand the underlying causes of any performance problems.

Jane Estroisch works as a manager in a multidomestic firm.She focuses on the long-term questions facing the organization such as which countries to compete in and what organizational policies to follow.Jane is in the ________ level of the organization.

Operational,managerial,and executive decision-making levels are all supported by a single type of information system.